Core-Periphery,Party Politics and Divergence in the EU Member States'Atti-tudes towards Belt and Road Initiative
The EU member states have demonstrated great divergences in their approaches to the Belt and Road Initiative.Some of them have signed the MoUs with China,others do not have an inclination for formal participation,while a few others have withdrawn from the Initiative.This article suggests that a member state's position in the Core-Periphery structure of the EU affects the extent to which it needs the economic opportunities offered by the Belt and Road.The characteristics of party politics in a country,in particular the differences between establishment and anti-establishment parties in terms of the Europeanization of foreign poli-cy,fiscal preferences and value-oriented diplomacy determine whether it will deviate from the mainstream position of the EU and explicitly support the Belt and Road Initiative.This article finds that all economically peripheral countries once governed by anti-establishment parties have signed MoUs,while none of the core countries governed by establishment par-ties has done so.The positions of the core countries once governed by anti-establishment parties and the peripheral countries governed by establishment parties are relatively ambigu-ous and may waver in their attitudes.The case studies of four countries—Italy,Austria,Lithuania and Germany—provide empirical evidence of the above argument.It reflects the complexity of the impact of the rise of anti-establishment parties and the divisions within the EU on China-EU relations.
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